A computer display may include one or more user interface elements. A user interface element might, for example, be utilized to display information to and/or receive information from a user. One example of a user interface element is a “text box” in which a user can type information (e.g., his or her name or address). Other examples of user interface elements include a check box that can be selected or deselected, a graphical input of a numerical value (e.g., displayed as a number or stars or as a sliding bar), and a “drop down” list of items that may be selected by a user.
The entry of data into a user interface element may, in some cases, be completely optional. In other cases, the entry of data into a user interface element may be mandatory. For example, a user interface might include both (1) a text box for the mandatory entry of a user name and (2) a text box for an optional entry of a user address. Often, mandatory elements are designated with a “*” symbol and/or are displayed in a different color (e.g., red) to let the user know which content on the display needs to be completed in order to proceed (e.g., to finish a login process).
For some applications, however, the “mandatory” and “optional” framework might not be flexible enough to achieve desired business goals. For example, a user interface might include ten input fields of which at least five must be completed by a user. Moreover, different fields might be associated with different levels of interest or importance. One approach to such a situation would be write special software code that evaluates data content entered by a user to determine whether or not the entered content is sufficient. This approach, however, can be a time consuming, costly, and error prone process. For example, the software code may need to be tested for a wide range of potential user inputs.
Accordingly, a method and mechanism for efficiently creating user interfaces such that an evaluation of data content entered by a user may be automatically performed are provided by some embodiments herein.